1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to devices for hanging gutters and, more particularly, is concerned with a gutter hanging bracket device with an integral fastener retaining guide structure.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A building, such as a residential house, may have one or more gutters disposed along the lower edge of a roof thereof. The gutters are typically attached to an upper portion or facia board of an exterior wall of the building by suitable means just below the lower edge of the roof. One attachment means, known as a nail/ferrule attachment, has been used for many years to hang gutters. The nail/ferrule attachment is considered one of the strongest types of gutter hanging devices. A problem exists, however, with the nail/ferrule attachment in that it requires more labor and, particularly, more skilled labor than other types of attachment means because the nails must be driven accurately otherwise the gutter can be dented which would require its replacement.
In more recent years, attachment means known as xe2x80x9chiddenxe2x80x9d hangers have been used to hang gutters. A hidden hanger is generally attached to a fascia board by one or more fasteners, such as screws, which may be installed by a portable drill or automatic screw gun. The hidden hanger minimizes the amount of labor required to hang the gutter, though the hidden hanger is typically not as strong as the conventional nail/ferrule attachment. A variety of hidden gutter hanger devices have been developed over the years.
Representative examples of prior art gutter hanger devices and the like are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,053,491 to Ramser, U.S. Pat. No. 3,295,803 to Blayden, U.S. Pat. No. 3,333,803 to Landis, U.S. Pat. No. 3,416,760 to Sauder, U.S. Pat. No. 3,737,127 to Maloney, Jr. et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,169,570 to Morin, U.S. Pat. No. 4,210,301 to Weiss, U.S. Pat. No. 4,241,548 to Rowe, U.S. Pat. No. 4,294,422 to Odekirk, U.S. Pat. No. 4,345,731 to Rowe, U.S. Pat. No. 5,004,191 to Corry and U.S. Pat. No. 5,271,192 to Nothum, Sr. et al. The Odekirk device, particularly, is a one-piece gutter hanger bracket having a nail guide portion located in a mid-section thereof. The Morin device is a multi-piece gutter hanger bracket having an open ended tubular section which holds a nail at a suitable angle for driving into the building exterior wall. While the designs of these and other prior art hanger bracket devices may be satisfactory in use for the specific purposes for which they were designed, they do not appear to have a construction which provides an optimum degree of strength nor suitable means for securely retaining a fastener in the desired position for applying to the building wall.
Consequently, a need remains for a device which provides a solution to the aforementioned prior art problems without introducing any new problems in place thereof.
The present invention provides a gutter hanging bracket device designed to satisfy the aforementioned need. The gutter hanging bracket device of the present invention has an elongated body portion with an integral fastener retaining guide structure for reliably holding a fastener in position for application to the building wall. The integral fastener retaining guide structure also increases the structural rigidity and strength of the gutter hanging bracket device over that of the prior art. The body portion of the device also is bent at a middle section between front and rear sections thereof. The front section of the body portion has a central longitudinal channel construction that further bolsters or augments the structural rigidity and strength of the device over that of the prior art so that the device does not bend significantly under normal conditions. The rear section of the body portion incorporates the integral fastener retaining guide structure. The gutter hanging bracket device is as strong as conventional nail/ferrule attachments but can be fastened with a minimum amount of labor and, particularly, with less skilled labor, without fear of damage to the gutter.
Accordingly, the present invention is directed to a gutter hanging bracket device which comprises: (a) an elongated body portion adapted to span an open top of a gutter between front and rear sides of the gutter, the body portion having opposite front and rear ends; (b) a forward attachment portion merging from the front end of the body portion and adapted to engage with the front side of the gutter; (c) a rearward attachment portion merging from the rear end of the body portion and adapted to cooperate with a fastener for securing the rear side of the gutter to an adjacent external structure so as to support the body portion in a cantilevered fashion from the external structure and thereby hang the gutter adjacent to the external structure; and (d) a fastener retaining guide structure integrally formed in the body portion, the fastener retaining guide structure including a longitudinally extending forward rib, a longitudinally extending rearward rib disposed adjacent to the rearward attachment portion and spaced from and aligned longitudinally with the forward rib, and a longitudinally extending intermediate rib disposed between the forward and rearward ribs and longitudinally aligned therewith, each of the forward and rearward ribs having an arcuate-shaped transverse sectional configuration in bowing upwardly from the body portion and the intermediate rib having an arcuate-shaped transverse sectional configuration bowing downwardly from the body portion such that a guide channel is defined by the forward, rearward and intermediate ribs for receiving the fastener therethrough below the forward and rearward ribs and above the intermediate rib to position the fastener for securing the device to the rear side of the gutter and the adjacent external structure. The device also comprises the fastener disposed through the guide channel of the fastener retaining guide structure of the body portion. The rearward attachment portion has a hole aligned with the guide channel of the fastener retaining guide structure which receives therethrough a leading end of the fastener.
The present invention also is directed to a gutter hanging bracket device which comprises: (a) an elongated body portion adapted to span an open top of a gutter between front and rear sides of the gutter, the body portion having opposite front and rear ends and a middle section spaced from the front and rear ends where the body portion is bent upward so as to form an obtuse angle extending between the front and rear ends; (b) a forward attachment portion merging from the front end of the body portion and adapted to engage with the front side of the gutter; (c) a rearward attachment portion merging from the rear end of the body portion and adapted to cooperate with a fastener for securing the rear side of the gutter to an adjacent external structure so as to support the body portion in a cantilevered fashion from the external structure and thereby hang the gutter adjacent to the external structure; and (d) a fastener retaining guide structure in the body portion between the rear end and middle section thereof defining a guide channel for receiving the fastener therethrough to position the fastener for securing the device to the rear side of the gutter and the adjacent external structure.